My attempt at 365 beers is going well – a little behind, but not to far off track. And I still haven’t been to Hopleaf or Map Room yet.
My reporting on the attempt is way behind though – I’m officially at 108. Number 100 was fittingly a Schlitz – the 60’s formula throw-back (with gusto). It was suprisingly good – probably the best of the fizzy American yellow lagers.
Some notable beers: North Coast Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout – my favorite so far this year, the mead-like Surly Three, on tap at Prairie Moon, Paramount Room, Small Bar and Twisted Spoke, the return of Bell’s Oberon – signaling spring (everywhere in Chicago) and Genesee Cream Ale on tap at the Twisted Spoke. Last time I had a Jenny Cream ale, it was warm and I was underage. Everyone with a Jenny story seems to have had one way before drinking legally. Even the Genesee website admits “A few of us first experienced Cream Ale sitting on our Dad’s lap. And let’s be honest again, for some, it was without our Dad. A whole bunch of us first experienced Cream Ale when Dad left the fridge in the garage unguarded.”
Some disappointments were found in bottles – New Holland’s Mad Hatter was one of the only beer’s I couldn’t finish this year – hoppy bitterness is good – astrigent bitterness isn’t. It might have been an older bottle. Also the Magic Hat HiPA wasn’t as bad – but still, the bottom of a bottle should be as pleasant as the first sip. Worst of the year so far – a Samuel Adams White Ale. I hate this style to begin with, and this one was an astringent pint of soap, pepper and coriander that I just barely managed to get down. The Bell’s version of the White was actually pretty good – balanced and much creamier version of the style.
You can follow my progress on twitter or see the full list and reviews on the 365 beer page
3 responses so far ↓
1 Aaron // May 1, 2009 at 4:36 pm
Wow. I guess if you are working your way through 365 beers you had to hit Schlitz at some point. I think I would of put it at either the very beginning or the very end. That would be a quandry. If you can’t get some Shiner Bock, let me know, it’s not widely available outside of Texas, but it’s damn good!
2 kiplog // May 1, 2009 at 4:46 pm
Shiner’s pretty easy to get around here, in bottles and on tap – it started showing up a couple of years ago. I’m surprised I haven’t gotten to it yet. Unless I have, and forgot.
There’s proably a few I have forgot – I’m prety sure I’ve had the Shiner Black on tap at some point too, but that might have been officially last year.
3 Andrew // May 11, 2009 at 12:15 am
Wow, I had no idea Twisted Spoke had Genny Cream on tap! I sometimes bring a case of it home from visits to Ohio, because it’s not distributed here, as far as I’ve been able to find.